Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
are too large to fit on a floppy, you should run the update from either an optical drive or a
USB flash drive.
Most downloadable flash ROM upgrades fit into five main types:
Windows executable upgrades
BIOS Setup executable upgrades
Automated images of bootable media
User-created bootable media
Emergency recovery media
The following sections examine each of these in more detail.
Windows Executable Upgrade
TheWindowsexecutablemethodisgenerallytheeasiestandmostpopular.Itmightnotbe
available for older motherboards, but most new boards offer this type of procedure. Per-
formingtheactualupgradecouldn'tbemucheasierbecausebasicallyallyouhavetodois
download the executable upgrade program and run it. The program either runs directly in
Windows, or it runs an install routine that temporarily installs the flash upgrade software
so it automatically runs on the next startup and then automatically reboots the system and
begins the upgrade. In either case, once the upgrade is finished, the system reboots again,
and the upgrade is complete. The only drawback to this procedure is that it requires that
Windows be installed on the system, so it might not be appropriate for new system builds
where the OS isn't installed yet or if you are running an alternative OS, such as Linux.
One potential problem with the Windows executable upgrade method is that if the pro-
gram runs directly in Windows and the OS is unstable, corrupted, or infected with mal-
ware, the BIOS upgrade may be interrupted, potentially requiring a BIOS recovery pro-
cedure. Such an event could even destroy the motherboard. Using one of the other meth-
ods(suchasupgradingfromabootablefloppy,CD,orUSBflashdrive)ispreferredifyou
think the host OS may be unstable.
BIOS Setup Executable Upgrade
SomemotherboardsnowincludeaflashBIOSupgradeutilityintheBIOS.Thisallowsfor
aBIOS upgrade tobeperformed inastable environment outside ofWindows, yet without
the hassle of having to create DOS-bootable USB flash, optical, or floppy media or enter-
ing complicated commands.
This feature is called the F7 BIOS Flash Update on Intel motherboards and M-Flash on
MSI motherboards, and it makes the BIOS upgrade procedure simple. To perform the
BIOS upgrade, all you need is a FAT- or FAT32-formatted USB flash drive onto which
 
 
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